Living Alone

A sliver of dawn light pierced through the gaps of the alley, illuminating Francis, shrouded in darkness, and Ning Xiuyuan's pale face.

His appearance was gaunt, his skin shriveled, his body stiff, as if he had exhausted his last breath, his life force fading.

If not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, everyone would have assumed he was already dead.

Yet, even in his dying moments, he still let out a final, furious cry!!!

No, it wasn't a cry.

A faint stream of air escaped his mouth, so weak that no one could discern his words.

Faintly, only the last few words could be heard:

—"Knowledge renders it void."

Was knowledge an extraordinary power?

Even the most stringent mystic would find it difficult to classify knowledge as supernatural!

Therefore, these few insignificant words, forming mere fragments, did not stir the slightest ripple in the "supernatural prohibition" that enveloped this land.

But it struck the uncontrolled entity a fatal blow!!!

"Hiss—"

A soul-piercing mental shockwave swept across half the city like a force that could cleave mountains!

This was the enraged roar of the uncontrolled entity!

—Its heart had been inexplicably pierced by an unseen force!

No!

It should be said that the disease of deception it had once suffered had returned.

The powerful heart, matched by its powerful physique, pumped scorching blood like the strongest steam engine, but that piercing wound caused the concentrated nourishment it had gained from the four transcendents to leak out madly.

The tentacle-head, deprived of blood supply, rapidly withered.

It frantically drove its regenerative power, attempting to repair its heart.

But, supernatural powers were prohibited here!

"Hiss—"

Another mad shriek, unable to vent its frenzied emotions, nor improve its current predicament.

Its limited consciousness abruptly withdrew its tentacles from its prey and shoved them into its own heart, attempting to plug the wound.

However, it could plug the cracks on the surface of the heart, but not the gaps within.

This only made it more frantic, and it subconsciously shoved its tentacles deeper into its heart, trying to seal every tiny wound, but in doing so, it silently tore the heart's wound open wider.

As Ning Xiuyuan watched, the uncontrolled entity was frantically clawing at its own heart, spurting copious amounts of crimson blood!

Quickly dyeing half the street red.

"Thump!"

It, which could have held on for another ten seconds, collapsed to the ground in just three breaths.

Until death arrived, its tentacles were still intricately wrapped around its shattered heart, as if guarding the most precious treasure in the world.

"Heh—"

Ning Xiuyuan's lips curled into a silent, mocking laugh.

The extraordinary characteristics absorbed by the uncontrolled entity flowed back into his body in an unknown manner, like a returning bird.

A portion of it even merged with his self once more.

But the pleasure of merging with the extraordinary characteristics was far less than the relief of escaping death.

Ning Xiuyuan was like a fish out of water, greedily and desperately breathing the air.

The dawn light shining through the alley's gaps rose higher and higher, becoming more dazzling, yet Ning Xiuyuan couldn't bear to close his eyes.

Through the cracks of the human world, he greedily admired the beautiful sunrise of the Divine Realm.

For the first time, he realized how spectacular the sunrise truly was!

Rings of light bloomed in his eyes, growing brighter and brighter, until they turned from white to black, transforming into an endless dark curtain that engulfed his flickering consciousness.

The profound exhaustion and the absorption by the uncontrolled entity finally made him faint, unable to hold on any longer.

Only two breaths after Ning Xiuyuan fainted, a bronze gate with beast-head carvings emerged from the ground.

With a "clang," the heavy door slowly opened, and various indescribable barks and roars that did not belong to human sight or hearing immediately came from within!

It was the weeping of ghosts, the roaring of demons, the whimpers of the wrongfully killed, the dirges of the departed souls.

The sounds grew louder and closer, making one's heart race, as if an indescribable monster might break through the door at any moment.

"Tap!"

First, a pair of shiny leather shoes stepped over the bronze threshold, revealing a body clad in red robes. As the last leather boot crossed the threshold, a skeletal hand suddenly grasped its ankle.

The owner of the foot impatiently shook it, but the skeletal hand held on tightly.

"Clang!"

The bronze gate slammed shut, sealing away all the endless resentment. Only the severed skeletal hand was left awkwardly in the Divine Realm.

The person who arrived was none other than Bishop Byron, as gentle as jade!

He paid no mind to the skeletal hand beneath his feet and scanned the scene. Having taken a shortcut to Hell, he was unfazed by countless malevolent souls. Now, however, his expression suddenly turned grave!

"Poof!"

A ghost emerged from the ground, its ethereal body rapidly solidifying. This was none other than Deacon Harry!

Another figure silently materialized in the air. He had arrived via dream teleportation; he was Dean Weilder of the monastery, a recluse over sixty years old.

As the three appeared one after another, more and more priests and nuns rushed over!

In fact, more than half of the transcendentals in the entire Francis Diocese were alerted at this moment.

It was truly because of the uncontrolled entity that had gathered four and a half extraordinary characteristics, and its dying roar of rage was too shocking!

The mental shockwave, like a tiger's roar in the mountains, directly informed all the transcendentals in the city that a Five-Ring uncontrolled entity had appeared here.

If handled improperly, the entire city could be destroyed.

However, just as everyone prepared for a desperate battle, the scene before them struck them like lightning!

Outside a four-wheeled iron carriage, an uncontrolled entity, swollen like a giant, lay sprawled on the ground. The octopus-like head perched on its shoulders had countless tentacles densely clustered around its chest.

It was as if it had ripped out its own heart and lungs;

Or as if it were protecting a treasure.

The ground around it was a vibrant crimson, the result of spilled blood, possessing a cruel beauty. It appeared to have been through a fierce battle.

Not far from the giant uncontrolled entity, a shriveled, clothed human skin lay on the bluestone street, a horrifying sight.

Most chillingly, there were two shriveled human skins on the carriage as well.

One was inside the carriage;

One had half its body inside the carriage and half outside. Judging by the situation, it seemed to have been in the process of some kind of transformation, crossing through the carriage, when it was forcibly interrupted.

The most eye-catching figure was the alien Arthur, not far from the giant uncontrolled entity!

He was the only one at the scene who was intact.

Where he lay sprawled, a long drag mark of blood extended from his feet far down the street.

"Orlando, Pine, Atley, Wright..."

Bishop Byron called out names one by one, a trace of sorrow flashing across his usually gentle face.

As a transcendental, he had seen many uncontrolled entities throughout his journey, even personally killing companions who had lost control. However, this familiarity had not made him heartless; instead, it made him feel even more sorrowful.

Because he knew what kind of heartbreak and despair lay behind each of these names.

Indeed, the situation was as he feared.

The swarming transcendentals quickly identified the human skins and the uncontrolled entities themselves by their clothing.

Shock, pain, despair, collapse, and disbelief quickly spread throughout the scene.

"That's... Orlando? How could this happen? He told me last time that his extraordinary characteristic was almost fully integrated. How could he have lost control?"

"That's not Pine! It can't be Pine. We just saw each other last night, I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

"I saw Atley just yesterday morning. We even talked about Dreamland, and he said he'd take me to see it when he had time. How could he have suddenly... died?!"

The clergy of the Church of Dawn mostly consisted of orphans and children of devout believers. They were raised and trained uniformly in monasteries from a young age, possessing unparalleled faith and loyalty.

They also shared deep bonds with each other.

Seeing their companions die so suddenly, with four falling at once, many were unable to accept it. Their emotions were severely impacted, and some even showed signs of losing control.

"Your Excellency the Bishop, Arthur is still alive!"

Just then, a startled cry interrupted everyone's discussions.

Countless disbelieving gazes turned towards them in unison.

A priest had flipped Arthur over, his face upwards. Although Arthur looked like a corpse, the slight rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still alive.

However, this sole survivor did not bring them elation, but rather burning hatred and incomprehension.

"What? Still alive? Pine, Atley, and Wright are all dead, how did he survive?"

"With injuries like these, anyone else would have lost control by now. Is he faking it?"

"Why is he the only one alive? What right does he have to be alive? Unless he caused this."

"Hmph, he was the first to discover Linley's loss of control, and now four people are dead, and it's another loss of control. If you tell me there's nothing fishy about all this, I won't believe it! I think it's all his doing."

"Damn alien, I knew it, he's the source of disaster."

"Your Excellency the Bishop, I request to participate in the investigation!"

The murmuring voices of doubt and suspicion gradually spread throughout the crowd, no longer even bothering to conceal themselves!

Solo survival, already under suspicion;

Alien races, even more so, naturally arouse suspicion;

Most crucially, the uncontrolled entity that had gathered four extraordinary characteristics was dead, yet he survived nearby. This extreme unreasonableness and contrast was enough to make even the most rational person cast a suspicious gaze his way.

Facing the enraged Church members, Bishop Byron took a deep breath and commanded:

"Deacon Harry, notify the patrol officers to seal the area immediately and form an investigation team to uncover the truth as quickly as possible and provide everyone with an explanation!"

"Yes!"

Deacon Harry responded in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over Arthur, who had fallen into a coma, a strange glint flashing in his eyes.